HLN #7: Make It Easy With Plain Language
Here are Six Tips for Creating Patient-Friendly Health Content
A few months ago, I undertook the responsibility of managing content and communications for an agri-tech company. Amidst drawing up a plan and creating long-form stories, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) told me one thing I’d never forget.
“...Did you know that every time we got great feedback from our stakeholders, especially the smallholder farmers in our communities, it was because we scripted our presentations in simple ways, making sure that we sandwiched stories in between the key points? People make buying decisions faster when you make it easy for them.”
Life is complicated already, dear one! People, patients, are already frustrated from seeking the right information at a lower cost. Like I once said, patients are seeking transformation from the crises they face. It has become like a moral obligation, now more than ever, with the rise of conflicting information from the internet, that we meet them where they are with information that is easy-to-grasp and leaves no headache.
Plain language allows us to put ourselves in the shoes of our patients and other end-users of the care we provide. Whether you work within or outside of the day-to-day hospital setting, you will find that simplicity gives room for undelayed action. Here are a few things I have learned which you may find useful for creating patient- or public-friendly health content.
FIRST, understand what your patient, reader, prioritized audience, or user needs. The reader simply says:
“Tell ME what I NEED to know.”
“Write to ME, not to the market.”
“Don't confuse ME”
This means that when writing or designing healthcare, wellness, or lifestyle copies, your goals for an already-defined, audience-centered communication will include:
Finding what they NEED
Knowing what they need to read the FIRST time
Using what they find in our content
Continuing to seek feedback
SECOND, solve for value and usability. A hack I have observed is to use everyday words. For instance, when I write to/for close contacts on my WhatsApp status, I like to often write in plain English with a mix of pidgin and street language, because some of my contacts have no more than primary school education. Also, a tour of some public health, wellness, and self-care pages on Instagram, gives this insight on how to think like the reader. Use:
"If", NOT "In the event of".
"Because", NOT "Due to the fact that".
THIRD, brevity is the soul of memorable health campaign messaging, say for flyers, tweets, t-shirts, or other branded items. Except where you need to explain in detail, most times, designing content for health promotion requires that you Keep It Short and Simple (KISS). For example:
"Interview", NOT "Conduct an interview"
"Think", NOT "Give some thought to"
One thing to always keep in mind: Plain language says, "Try not to waste the reader's time."
Similarly, you can use synonyms that create no difficulty for the user of the education material. Why say “Routine medical screening is paramount” when you can say “A regular health check is important”. (If I may digress, this is where I get to love the Thesaurus section of Microsoft Word over other writing tools)
FOURTH, use active verbs. Consider revising if your narrative is filled with passivity. With a passive voice, you need more words than you would have in a sentence with an active voice. Remember that a verb is an action or doing word. With a passive verb, you take away the action of the sentence from the subject of the sentence (which often, in a health campaign message, is the person who reads your health content or the decision you want them to take) and make the object of the action the subject of the sentence. This only makes it more difficult to understand.
"Exercise reduces depression." (Active voice)
NOT "Depression is reduced by exercise". (Passive voice)
The first makes the reader QUICKLY see and think of what next they need to do. Again, don't waste their time.
FIFTH, jargon (Wait, jargon, again?) and unexplained (medical/health) abbreviations are easy ways to fail on arrival. First, write the words in full, with the abbreviation in brackets, before using it all through the copy. For instance:
For Abbreviations: “Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures can be taken at home. When considering the best IPC approach to take during home cleaning, follow the basic principle of cleaning the clean areas first, before the dirtiest areas.”
Jargon: The surgeon, nurse, & anesthetist shall commence the surgery after we confirm via a laboratory diagnosis that your system is suited for the surgical procedures.
Plain Language: The medical team will begin the surgery after your lab test results show you're good for it.
SIXTH, pronouns are powerful. Use:
"You" when you want to make the reader personalize the narrative.
"I" to make the reader see themselves in a character, real or imaginary.
"They/Their" for people who share a common challenge, eg. People who live with diabetes, contracted COVID19...
"We" is my best pronoun. It tells the reader that I am also in, or prone to this situation, as much as they are. Truthfully, once I feel like I'm talking AT, instead of talking TO, or engaging WITH my audience, I choose "We" as my go-to pronoun, because it lets me express my vulnerability too. Always reflect, what pronoun is most suitable for the reader if he/she needs to read out loud.
The lessons on the use of plain language are inexhaustible. There are articles, research papers, courses, and other learning materials available, for anyone who loves simple language when giving signals or receiving feedback.
So, let’s recap quickly. If you want to help patients or the public make healthy decisions in the shortest possible time, solve for clarity through plain language. Here's what you have learned in summary:
KNOW your AUDIENCE and their NEEDS
Write to or for ONE of THEM. If you are writing for people living with obesity, keep a typical persona in mind as tell the story or design the campaign
Make it CLEAR, not clever. Clear evokes ACTION; clever evokes confusion.
Let your health content MEET THEIR NEEDS in a language that they understand.
Are there lessons on plain language, you’d want to share with other readers? Feel free to reply or share in the comments of this blog post.
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Some important public health events in October.
Oct: Health Literacy Month
Oct: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Oct 29: World Stroke Day
Download this 2021 Health and Wellness Calendar to see and plan for more important health days in the year.
See you again, 3/11/2021.
Happy Health Literacy Month,
Chidindu Mmadu-Okoli
Health Literacy Notepad
It was an educative piece. Thanks for writing and sharing.